If you've ever ventured into the jungle known as social media, you know there is always a critic waiting to have their latest opinion go viral.
"One of the things that I try to stress to young guys is just to sort of ignore the noise," Sixers guard JJ Redick said. "We live in a day and age where people are making judgment calls on 20-year-old players and deciding whether or not they're a bust at 22 or 21."
If Redick listened to the evaluators when he was just starting out in the NBA, he would have heard plenty about simply being a shooter and how his lack of athleticism and defense would hold him back.
Instead, here we are 13 years in and Redick is still proving those so-called experts wrong.
The latest example was in the Sixers' 116-115 win over the Orlando Magic on Saturday night when Redick poured in 31 points that included the deciding three-pointer with 17.0 seconds remaining in the game (see observations).
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"I think I've tried every year I've been in the league to work on my craft both from a skill perspective and on my body," said Redick, who shot 10 of 20 from the field. "There's not really any magical secret to it. It's just sort of the analogy of putting in daily work and you get drops in a bucket and eventually your bucket's pretty full and you have a good base to play with."
Which is why Redick is the perfect player for the man who replaced him in the Sixers' starting lineup - Markelle Fultz - to learn from.
Redick has gone through it all during his time in the NBA. He's been a reserve to an every-night starter and now back to the bench. He's averaged eight minutes a game to over 30. He's been relegated to spot-up shooting to a focal point of an offense.
Yet, he's sharpened his dominant skills and added different pieces along the way that allowed him to achieve longevity in a business that can't wait to chew you up and spit you out (ask Fultz about that).
And he's not just hanging on. The 34-year-old Redick remains a threat just like Saturday night when he ripped out the heart of his former team with eight threes, the final one coming in elbow action alongside Joel Embiid with the Sixers looking like they might blow a very winnable game.
"JJ Redick was our bell ringer tonight," head coach Brett Brown said. "I thought Joel was exceptional as well, but we needed every bit of JJ Redick tonight to find a way to get out of this building with a win."
There's no denying that. With Fultz still struggling to find his way and Ben Simmons sidelined with a back injury, Redick's offense was pivotal.
Even Embiid, who racked up another monster double-double with 32 points and 10 rebounds, was willing to acknowledge just how much the Sixers needed his tag-team partner in Redick.
"I love playing with him. I told him the other day that he was the best player I've ever played with just because we understand each other so well," Embiid said of Redick. "I'm able to get him open. When it comes to sharing the ball, I know that when I'm gonna set the screen or hand it off, I know I'm gonna be happy with the outcome.
"I was telling him the other day that I wish he was 24 years old, so we could be here for 10, 15 years. But he's old as s---, so he won't be here for long."
